Making your own pasta can inspire excitement in some and angst in others, but the final product is hands-down unbeatable as it tastes worlds apart from a boxed version. Thankfully, modern-day pasta makers simplify the process, so anyone (yes, you too!) can make their own delicious, hand-made noodles. If carbs like pasta are something you’ve taken off your menu, newer research suggests you might want to add them back in. When researchers recently reviewed 38 studies of pasta eating habits they found that people who regularly eat pasta aren’t more likely to be overweight compared to people who eat less pasta. And in fact, some of the studies showed that people whose diet contains a higher percentage of pasta are more likely to have lower BMIs and eat a healthier diet overall (think: more fruits, vegetables, fish, etc.) than people whose diet contains a smaller proportion of pasta. From hand-crank, tabletop pasta makers to extruder models that make the dough and create perfect penne pasta all-in-one, we put 21 different pasta makers to the test. We cranked out three types of pasta in each to find the best pasta makers and pasta accessories for every level of home chef. Here are our top picks. PHOTO: EatingWell / Russell Kilgore What we like: The Atlas is incredibly easy to use and cleanup takes little effort. What to know: You may have to hand-separate your spaghetti noodles. With its simple design and solid construction, this Italian-made table top pasta device was our hands-down favorite. The clamp-and-screw mechanism made anchoring it to the counter very easy and stable. Operating the crank was comfortable and smooth, the handle felt more solid than most, and we enjoyed the ease of rolling the pasta back and forth. The Atlas has 10 different roller settings, with an easy-to-adjust pull and turn dial, allowing for a good range of thickness options. While the cutter for spaghetti did not cut as well as we would have liked, this machine cut our fettuccine to a perfect thickness, making us appreciate the excellent guidance provided by the manufacturer’s instructions. This compact and sleek-looking 5-pound machine is easy to disassemble for cleaning. A quick wipe with a pastry brush or soft cloth and you can store this until your next pasta foray. Operation Mode: Manual | Attachments: Lasagna, fettuccine, spaghetti | Product Dimensions: 7.87”L x 7.87”W x 5.7”H | Dishwasher safe: No PHOTO: EatingWell / Russell Kilgore PHOTO: EatingWell / Russell KilgoreOther Tabletop Options We Like These two tabletop pasta makers cost less than our best overall option and performed well. The Imperia is durably designed with high-quality construction. Our one warning: The instructions are only in Italian, which made initial use a little challenging. Despite the translation hurdle, we felt this was a great machine for beginners, especially those looking to make pasta frequently.  EatingWell / Russell Kilgore The CucinaPro Pasta Maker Deluxe Set is a particularly good value. It comes with three attachments for a wider variety of pasta shapes than other manual models. Ideal for someone who wants to experiment more with pasta shapes, this model cuts angel hair and ravioli, in addition to the standard spaghetti and fettuccine. The dial offers nine settings for thinning the noodles, and although we did find the thinner levels more challenging to crank, the rollers and cutters move through any sticky dough without fraying or wrinkling the pasta.Best Electric Pasta Makers If you’re looking for ease of use, the Philips Viva is practically hands-off and super quiet. We found the cooked fettuccine had a great al dente texture. This extruder model not only makes the standard spaghetti and fettuccine but also puts out a nice, evenly shaped penne. Cutting the pasta from the machine was easy with the included cutting tool. Although this machine asks a higher price than the manual models we tested, we found it was well worth the extra cost. The dishwasher-safe design also gives this heavy-lifting machine a distinct advantage over its competitors. PHOTO: EatingWell / Russell Kilgore PHOTO: EatingWell / Russell Kilgore An even more budget-friendly option, for under $150 the Hamilton Beach model turns making fresh pasta into an almost fully automated experience. During testing, we appreciated the detailed instructions, particularly the photos that illustrated what overly dry dough looked like. This proved valuable, as the internal scale wasn’t 100% accurate. The downsides? It’s noisy, and we found cleaning to be a chore.Best KitchenAid Attachments For the expert or beginner, the Antree pasta-making attachment (only works with a KitchenAid) gets high marks for the consistency of dough and pasta on each setting and overall ease of use. We were impressed with the perfectly-shaped noodles that didn’t need manual separation. The attachment’s high mount position allows for a greater clearance under the rollers to handle the pasta, resulting in less crimping and breaking. PHOTO: EatingWell / Russell Kilgore PHOTO: EatingWell / Russell Kilgore Looking to splurge? Though a little more pricey than the Antree, the KitchenAid attachment is a terrific buy for folks who love the KitchenAid brand. Small enough for easy storage, we found this attachment very easy to clean with the included brush. The KitchenAid attachment performed well with thinning the dough and the cutters made distinct strands of both fettuccine and spaghetti with no clogs or jams. PHOTO: EatingWell / Russell Kilgore PHOTO: EatingWell / Russell KilgoreOther Accessories To Consider If you’re looking to level up your at-home pasta nights, we highly suggest investing in a pastry wheel and drying rack. Sur La Table’s dual wheels give you the option for straight or ruffled cuts. This tool makes it easy to cut long pastas, lasagna noodles or perfectly square ravioli. We like CucinaPro’s drying rack for its ample space that keeps individual strands from touching. Fragile dried noodles can be transported to the final location on the included dowel, substantially reducing breakage. PHOTO: EatingWell / Russell Kilgore PHOTO: EatingWell / Russell Kilgore The Bottom Line: The Best Pasta Maker If you’re into making pasta by hand, go with the Marcato Atlas 150 Pasta Machine. It is well-made, sturdy and easy to use. The fettuccine is unbeatable and the size of the maker is perfect for easy storage. For less work and more flexibility in pasta shapes, try the Philips Viva Collection Compact Pasta and Noodle Maker. All you need to do is add the ingredients and you can have fresh pasta without the hassle of kneading, thinning or cutting. You can create fun shapes like penne and rigatoni, and the machine operates very quietly. Choosing a Pasta Maker Materials Matter Manual tabletop models are most often constructed of stainless or carbon steel. This material is sturdy and solid, and most importantly easy to clean. Though only one manual machine on our list was dishwasher safe, the others were easily cleaned with a brush (typically included with the product) and a damp cloth.  Electric machines typically have plastic exteriors, while the moving parts are made of steel. Larger in size than the manual machines, these models house reservoirs for mixing and kneading the dough before pressing it through the shaping discs. Though not tremendously heavy, these devices are more cumbersome. While only the Philips is dishwasher safe, none of the models we tested came away with poor ratings for ease of cleaning.  Manual vs. Electric Pasta Machines Manual machines are designed to be very sleek, easy to operate and limited in purpose. They are great for flat pasta shapes including spaghetti and fettuccine, but do not work for tubular pastas like penne and rigatoni. Some, we found, housed the rollers and cutters in the same piece, while others required the user to stop and change attachments from rolling to cutting the pasta. Each featured a hand crank and dial for thinning the pasta, though the number of positions on the dial varied from model to model.  Electric, and more specifically extruder, models are designed to perform more functions, including mixing, kneading and forming the pasta shapes through discs or dies. Extruders are made specifically to handle the complexity of hollow and twisted shapes, in addition to flat pastas. With the additional mechanics, these machines vary in how much noise they produce while making the dough and during extrusion. Size and Storage Something to consider with any type of pasta maker is the size of the machine. Considering your storage and how frequently you plan to use the device will allow for a better gauge on what kind of maker will work best for you. Table top manual models are certainly more compact, while extruders may require extra storage. Included Accessories If you are new to fresh pasta, you may find that making a few batches will direct your needs for accessories. A drying rack is specific in purpose but very useful if dried pasta is your thing, while a cutting tool can help elevate your cuts with fancy ruffled edges.  Our Tests for the Best Pasta Maker and Pasta-Making Tools In our effort to find the best pasta makers available, we looked at each device for its design, ease of use, performance, cleaning and overall value, weighting performance at the highest level. We acquainted ourselves with each machine by reading any literature included to ensure we followed any device machine-specific instructions. We then conducted each test with the same dough, pasta shapes and criteria to ensure a level playing field.  With the tabletop models, setting up each machine allowed us to evaluate the quality and size of the machines, how well they clamped to the table and how easy they were to assemble and operate. We first tested rolling out the dough, where we rated the ease and comfort of the hand crank in addition to the performance of the rollers and gears when moving through the levels of thickness. Each machine was tested on standard pasta cuts to rate how well the cutters divided the noodles, whether the machines clogged or tore the pasta and how easy it was to change any parts for the second task. Our final evaluation was based on how easy each device was to clean after making pasta and how simple the machine and any accessories would be to store. Extruder models (models able to produce pasta shapes from a die such as penne and rigatoni) were set up and evaluated on their ease of use, overall design and look and their ability to quietly produce various pasta shapes. These machines, with the exception of the KitchenAid attachment, came with manufacturer-specific dough recipes that, once ingredients were added to the reservoir, the machine would process to the point of noodle production. We cooked each noodle produced and evaluated them on taste and texture. For pasta-making tools, we evaluated each on its intended functions, such as how well it dried or cut the pastas. How easy these accessories were to clean and store were also contributing factors in our final decision. We Also Considered: Rethone Pasta Maker Attachment for KitchenAid Stand Mixers:We like that the roller and two cutters are housed in the mechanism, and the attachment was very easy to clean. The KitchenAid attachment screw does not work with this device, but the bolt it comes with works beautifully. Hamilton Beach Electric Pasta and Noodle Maker: Great for beginners, this pasta maker worked quickly, producing pasta from raw ingredients to cookable noodles in around 30 minutes. It does require some observation to work through the process the first time as the buttons and instructions were not fully intuitive. Ourokhome Collapsible Pasta Drying Rack: Constructed of plastic, this spoke-style drying rack features large-footed pop-out legs with rubber feet that attach easily to your countertop for stability. If you’re looking for a budget drying rack, we definitely recommend this one. Sänger Wooden Pasta Dryer: This drying rack was very sturdy and held a good amount of pasta. It would be best for folks with ample counter space as it fell on the larger side of the products we tested. Common Questions Can you make pasta without a machine? Artisanal pastas have long been made by hand without the use of any devices. Hand-rolled pasta dough does take skill and patience but the reward for your hard work is delicious flavor and texture. If getting it right without tremendous effort is more your speed, then a machine will add some ease in rolling and cutting your dough to perfection. How do you clean a pasta maker?  Most of our tabletop machines required only a damp cloth and maybe a brushing to release any stuck-on pasta or flour residue. Some of the extruder models are dishwasher safe. How does a pasta extruder work? The extruder works by pressing the pasta dough through a die or plastic discs which allow for shapes, such as tubes and spirals, that would be difficult to produce by hand. How long can I store fresh pasta?  Though dried pasta offers storage lengths of 2 to 6 months, fresh pasta can also be stored easily. Placing your pasta in an air-tight container for storage will yield the best results. If you are not going to eat your pasta within one day, freezing it is the best option. Keep in mind that the humidity of the refrigerator will alter the taste and texture after about 24 hours.  How long do you dry pasta on a rack?  Once you have your fresh pasta, coat it lightly with some flour and lay it out or use a rack to hang your pasta for 12 to 24 hours. The length of time will depend on the temperature and humidity in the room where it is drying. You can test your pasta by trying to break off a piece. When it snaps and doesn’t bend or twist, it is fully dried. Our Trusted Expertise A lifelong pasta lover, Tiffany Vickers Davis is a chef, writer and food entrepreneur with more than 25 years experience. Beginning in high-profile restaurant kitchens, she currently owns and operates a fresh prepared meal company that ships nationally. Prior to starting her company, she was the test kitchen Director at Cooking Light magazine, testing hundreds of products from stoves to knives during her 14-year tenure with the brand. As one of the testers of these pasta makers, she had hands-on insight into the testing process and performance markers.  This article was edited by Katie Tuttle, a food editor and contributor to publications such as Food & Wine and The Spruce Eats. She has been reaping the rewards of her KitchenAid pasta attachment for years.